Students Win Engineering Contest
The National Academy of Engineering’s EngineerGirl! website announced on May 28 the winners of the 2010 EngineerGirl! – Survival Design Challenge Essay Contest. This year’s national contest asked students (grades 3-12) to describe how they would use the clothing or accessories they are wearing, the contents of their backpacks, and items in the environment to create a shelter, gather food and water, or get the attention of a rescue party if they were lost during a field trip to a national forest. More than 800 students submitted essays. Prizes ranged from $500 for first place to certificates for honorable mentions.
“We are pleased that the EngineerGirl! essay contest creates excitement about engineering among so many young people,” said NAE President Charles M. Vest. “I congratulate all of the participants in this year’s contest for their creative use of engineering in a real-world scenario. I encourage these young minds to continue to think of engineering as the way to solve the world’s challenges, as they will be the problem-solvers of tomorrow.”
Among the winners:
Quin Nardone, a third-grader being home-schooled in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., won first place (grades 3-5) for creating various simple but practical tools such as smoke signals, paper boats, and drums to attract attention from a rescue party. Brittany Ngia, in fourth grade at Hamilton Elementary School in Troy, Mich., won second place; Raga Justin, in fifth grade at Martha and Josh Morris Mathematics and Engineering Elementary in Texarkana, Texas, won third place; and Maddy Garretson, in fourth grade at Madera Elementary School in El Cerrito, Calif., received an honorable mention.
Satvika Kumar, a sixth-grader from Nysmith School for the Gifted in Lorton, Va., won first place (grades 6-8) for her description of efforts to attract a rescue party using signal fires, notes, and a handmade whistle. Summer Wu, in eighth grade at Deer Path Middle School in Lake Forest, Ill., won second place; Zachary Neubauer, in eighth grade at Teeland Middle School in Wasilla, Alaska, won third place; and Alexandra Kung, in seventh grade at Seven Bridges Middle School in Chappaqua, N.Y., received an honorable mention.
Brielle Seaman, a 12th-grader from A.C. Mosley High School in Panama City, Fla., won first place (grades 9-12) for her essay on creating a system to gather, filter, and purify water. Emily Pace, in 11th grade at Rockdale Magnet School for Science and Technology in Conyers, Ga., won second place; Jahvan Innerarity, in 9th grade at Rockdale Magnet School for Science and Technology in Conyers, Ga., won third place; and Kristina Henderson, in 10th grade at Louisiana R-II High School in Louisiana, Mo., was awarded an honorable mention.
Their full essays can be found here.
Filed under: K-12 Education News
Tags: Contest, Essay Contest, Programs for Girls
